Your first cross country hike?

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ndwoods
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Your first cross country hike?

Post by ndwoods »

Mike M's TR of his Enchanted Gorge trip was awesome!

Made me wonder....most of us here go off trail....where did you all start?

My very first was in the Ventana....my hubbie and kids about 10 and 11 went on a 3 dayer. My husband thought he could shave some miles off for us by going off trail. Can you say bushwack and steep scree? I was GRUMPY with capitol letters! Laugh.

Then we started snow trips which of course are always "off trail" since there is no trail. These were always in the Yolla Bollys.

Then we did Nelson Lake in Yosemite which is kind of off trail, but not really....there's a use trail...

Then I think, but am not sure cuz memory fades that far back, that our next off trail venture was the southern section of the High Sierra Route....going up Copper Creek and out Cartridge and back via the JMT and Bubbs. That was a long time ago when noone traveled it and I felt like such a big girl doing that trip....laugh!

How about you all????:)
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oldranger
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Re: Your first cross country hike?

Post by oldranger »

I must have been about 12. Our family was car camping with friends at Bass Lake. I took off with their two boys up out of the campground all the way to the top of Goat Mt. we zipped back really fast but were gone over two hours. My parents were really pissed. I was happy as a clam! (What the heck does that cliche mean?)

At age 15 started backpacking on my own and went off trail up to Mattie Lake. But before that led my dad on multiday trips, with many off trail miles. He was so cool to do that with me!

Mike
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The hermit
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Re: Your first cross country hike?

Post by The hermit »

My first off trail experience was probably in the late 80s with my best bud. We climbed high above the gorge in arroyo seco.We set up some sort of marker with rocks and a tin can...30 yrs later I went from lost keys lakes up past bench lakes to a couple tarns @10400'. From there it was an easy up and over a 10600 pass down to beetlebug lake.Im thinking of calling it lost keys pass.
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rlown
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Re: Your first cross country hike?

Post by rlown »

oldranger wrote: My parents were really pissed. I was happy as a clam! (What the heck does that cliche mean?)
Mike
From http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Clam" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;:
Clams have also inspired the phrase "happy as a clam", short for "happy as a clam at high tide" (which should be happy because it cannot easily be dug up and eaten).[3]
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Re: Your first cross country hike?

Post by balzaccom »

Staring at a map in Lassen National Park and seeing that the trail made a huge loop to take in an overlook. And on the way back, we decided that it must be quicker and shorter to cut across that loop.

It was. We've been cross-countrying ever since. And no, they don't always turn out that way. :confused:
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Re: Your first cross country hike?

Post by John Dittli »

At 6, I started going with my Pop and older brothers on annual week long backpacks into the Marble Mountain Primitive Area. Since he insisted on always going as soon as school got out (early June), most of the trip would be on snow. While not technically cross country perse', as we would try to follow trails, most of it would be following our noses.

The one lake we would visit that was trailless with or without snow, was Hooligan Lake (it had the biggest fish!).

Like Old Ranger, I'm forever indebted to my Pop for those early experiences.

By 12 we (the neighborhood boys) were doing adult free postholing trips up Mt Lynn in the Yolla Bollys.

First real cross country summer trip was again with one of the neighbor boys in the 70's. I'm trying now to even remember where we went, but I know it included Alpine Col, Humpherys Basin, Royce, Granite Park and getting shut down at the south col of Bear Creek Spire; ended up going over Gabbot instead. Not sure where we started or ended up, just know that that hooked me on xc forever.
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sparky
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Re: Your first cross country hike?

Post by sparky »

MY first sustained cross country backpacks was i think 1996 or 1997 on a trip to Utah. We explored Arches and Canyonlands. I don't really remember where we went exactly, I was just following, except it was amazing!
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rlown
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Re: Your first cross country hike?

Post by rlown »

I'm not sure you can distinguish between cross country and not. If you're brought up hunting and fishing, you are by definition "off trail" most of the time. At 13 I was "off trail."

Some trails are necessary just to gain access, but then the topo becomes a playground. Never even considered that a trail is that important. Only important part is being able to find your way back to camp.
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Re: Your first cross country hike?

Post by dave54 »

I honestly do not remember. I have been hiking solo off trail as long as I remember. If I saw an interesting looking feature on a map or from the trail I simply left the trail to investigate. Never thought anything special about leaving a trail.
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oldranger
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Re: Your first cross country hike?

Post by oldranger »

Dave 54 wrote:
Never thought anything special about leaving a trail.
Exactly!

mike
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